


How to Save the Planet, with Tea and Cows

by dbskyler



Category: Doctor Who, Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-18
Updated: 2013-12-18
Packaged: 2018-01-05 01:21:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1087925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dbskyler/pseuds/dbskyler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Sixth Doctor wants to save the planet.  Gita Chandra just wants to chat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How to Save the Planet, with Tea and Cows

**Author's Note:**

> Written to fulfill 2003 for dw_50ficathon on LiveJournal.

The Doctor strode out of the TARDIS, his hands on his lapels, his gaze noble, his visage stern. He opened the door to the flower shop and gave the woman behind the counter his best arched glare.

"Pray, would you be Gita Chandra, the proprietress of this establishment?" he asked.

"Why, yes!" responded the woman, beaming happily. "What can I do for you? Are you here to buy some flowers? I just got in a fresh shipment of lilies, they're in the back, they're lovely. Or considering how much you obviously like color, judging from your coat -- I do too, color is so cheerful, don't you think? -- I could do an arrangement of tulips, or perhaps some mums, or ooh! Sunflowers! Yes, how about some sunflowers?"

"Sunflowers?!" exclaimed the Doctor. "I am not here to make a purchase. You, young woman . . . "

"Young?" she interrupted with a giggle. "Oh, you are a darling, aren't you? Mind you, I was just saying to Haresh the other day about how middle age isn't really middle age anymore, considering how much longer people live nowadays. Why, I saw a program on the telly the other night about a woman who lived to be over one hundred and twenty. One hundred and twenty! Can you imagine it?"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "I can imagine it," he stated. "But as I was saying . . ."

"Oh, yes, sorry. Of course. You wanted to make a purchase. No wait, you said you didn't want to make a purchase. What can I do for you, then? Directions? Change? Although, are you sure you wouldn't like some flowers? I have some lovely lilies in the back, did I mention that?"

"Yes, you mentioned it." The Doctor glared at her again, but the smiling expression of the woman in front of him did not alter at all. "If you would be so kind as to let me speak . . . " he paused.

"Yes, of course." 

". . . and not interrupt . . ."

"Oh, I do have a habit of doing that, don't I? Don't mind me, chatter on 'till the cows come home, that's what Haresh always says. Although, where did that phrase come from? Why should cows take a long time to come home? "

"I am not here to talk about cows!" bellowed the Doctor. He gave her one of his fiercest expressions, the one that made even the Daleks move back at least a meter, but Gita did not so much as blink twice. 

"Would you like some tea?" she asked instead. "I have a kettle in the back. I find that tea always helps when I've had a hard day, and if you don't mind my saying so, I think you could use a nice relaxing cup."

"Tea?! Tea, my dear woman, tea would be the most ridiculous . . . the worst . . ." The Doctor paused, looking at Gita's stubbornly cheerful face. He wanted to simply throw up his hands and let the planet get destroyed, along with its inhabitants' inane chatter, and their cows, and their tea. Although, come to think of it . . . "Actually, a cup of tea would be nice, thank you." 

"Oh, lovely!" she said. "Wait right there, my darling. I'll be back in two ticks." She left the room, and the Doctor quickly searched for the alien device that was about to cause the destruction of the Earth. He found it, and set about deactivating its mechanism. Halfway through the task, he stopped, and looked at it thoughtfully. At that moment, Gita returned with two steaming cups of tea.

"Here we are. Now just relax and let that steep for a moment. Oh, what do you have there?" She looked at the scattered fragments of metal on her counter.

"Nothing," he said, and swept the fragments into his pocket. "If you don't mind my asking, Mrs. Chandra, around how many hours did you spend talking in here today?"

"Today?" asked Gita. "Oh, that's impossible to answer. I like to talk to all of my customers, you know. It's just good business practice to have a nice friendly chat with them. Besides, you never know when something you mention will make someone want to make a purchase. You wouldn't believe how many times I've had people just like you right now, sitting here with a nice cup of tea, and then after they've relaxed and chatted and been around the flowers for a bit, they suddenly think of something they'd like to buy. Speaking of which, have you had a chance to think about those lilies?"

The Doctor smiled. "I would love some lilies, Mrs. Chandra. And here, I'll throw this in for the tea." He took a small crystal from his pocket and handed it to her.

Gita looked at it curiously, turning it over in her palm. "Well, I don't know what this is, but it's broken. See, there's a crack right here down the center."

"There is," confirmed the Doctor. "Made by you. The sound waves of your voice created a frequency modulation that built up over time, and eventually overloaded its energy matrix. So, it seems that I unexpectedly have some free time." He leaned back and sipped at his tea. It really was quite good. "Shall we drink tea and have a friendly chat?"

Gita smiled, and passed him the sugar.


End file.
